Fear of Sautéing

County Fare

by Diana Cercone

In his much-acclaimed book “How to Cook Everything The Basics,” Mark Bittman defines sautéing as “cooking food in a skillet with some oil or butter (usually at least a couple of tablespoons) to brown it on the outside, while keeping it tender and moist on the inside.” Sounds simple, right? But to most home cooks, including a few of my friends who know their way around a kitchen, the thought of sautéing a cut of beef, chicken or fish sends them into paroxysms of fear.

To allay their fears of this basic cooking style I turned to Denis Chiappa, owner, chef, caterer and cooking instructor at Conquering Cuisine in Doylestown. Denis teaches the art of sautéing and pan sauces in his Culinary Techniques for Home Cooks classes. (Many people may recognize Denis as co-owner of and cooking instructor at Carlow Cookery which closed last year.)

“I love teaching sautéing,” Denis says. “It’s one of the most useful—and fun—methods of cooking. It allows you to be creative. You’re not tied to a recipe. You can cook what is in season or what you have on hand in your fridge and pantry and be as creative as you like.

Sautéing can’t be more simple, he says. Start with good quality tender cuts of meat, such as beef fillet, rib eye and strip steak; pork loin or tenderloin; chicken cutlets; smaller fish if cooking whole; meatier fish like salmon and grouper; and seafood, especially shrimp and scallops, as your protein. “Thickness doesn’t matter,” he says. Larger and thicker cuts of protein finish cooking in the oven.

Cooking time varies according to the protein, Denis says. The goal is to allow the protein enough time “to get a nice caramelized color on the outside.” “It’s not only visually pleasing to us,” Denis says, “but it also leaves bits in the bottom of the pan that you’ll use to scrape up to begin making your sauce with.

That’s the added bonus of this basic cooking method, he says. It all happens in one pot or pan. (Who can complain about that?)

Pan sauces are referred to as “fond,” he says, “the French word for foundation.” “The sauce builds on the “fond” or browned bits in the pan to form the foundation.” The starting point for the sauces is an aromatic ingredient, usually shallots, he says. When your protein is finished cooking, remove it to an oven-proof platter and set in a 200°F oven to keep warm while you make the sauce. Place the pan back on the stove, keeping the heat to medium, and add the shallots to the pan. When the shallots have softened, deglaze with 1/2 cup of alcohol—usually wine, vodka or brandy—scraping up the bits from the bottom of the pan. Let the alcohol bubble away as you stir and scrape and the sauce is reduced by half.

Then add stock or water. When possible, he says, choose a good stock over water. And marry stock to protein, such as beef stock to beef, fish stock to fish and seafood and chicken stock to chicken. For a richer beef sauce, add a demi-glace instead of stock. Reduce heat to simmer, allowing the sauce to reduce by half.

If you want a thicker sauce, he says, add some heavy cream. Don’t worry about the sauce curdling, he says, heavy cream can stand up to heat. To finish the sauce, add some “nice, fresh herbs, such as rosemary, thyme, basil, parsley or chives. “These add a note of freshness at the end of the dish.”

Some pairings of alcohol, herbs, aromatics and savories to keep in mind, he says, are tarragon, demi-glace, brandy and heavy cream for a classic beef dish. For thick-cut pork chops, use hard apple cider, diced Granny Smith apples and caramelized onions.

O.K., sounds easy enough. Still the fears remain. So what to do to allay them forever, I ask. The biggest fear is overcooking, Denis says. But if you take a few easy steps to ensure against overcooking the protein, he says, you should have no problem.

First, he says, “get to know your stove.” Every stove is different, so adjust accordingly to maintain an even temperature (from high to medium to low. Same for the oven’s temperature, e.g., is it a true 350°F read?).

Second, invest in a good quality pot or pan that is heavy enough to go from top of the stove into a hot oven, such as a stainless steel one. Then go ahead and heat the pan on the stove. Allow it to heat about 10 minutes on med-high before adding the protein. Add enough oil to the pan for a thin coating. (Too much and it will spatter and make a mess. Also you don’t want to fry the protein.) If butter is desired, use only unsalted and then in combination with the oil. Using only butter runs the high risk of burning it. When choosing to add butter, Denis prefers to “mount” the sauce at the end with a little butter by removing the pan from the heat and swirling in cold butter. “It adds a little body and a lot of richness.”

Next, make sure protein is relatively dry before placing it in the hot pan. If not, pat dry to remove any outside moisture. Season protein simply with salt and freshly ground black pepper. This is no time to be liberal. Just a small amount of S&P. These can always be adjusted for taste at the end of making the sauce. Remember, cautions Denis, “Salt doesn’t go away as the dish cooks. Plus, other ingredients, such as stock, add salt to the sauce, so wait till the end to adjust to taste. Chances are, you’ll find that you won’t need to.

Cook protein until caramelized on one side, then flip to do the same on the other. (If cooking a thick cut of meat, especially one with a bone-in, such as a rib-eye steak), finish cooking in a preheated 350°F-375°F oven for about 8-10minutes. To avoid overcooking, Denis suggests investing in an instant-read thermometer “and focus on the internal temperature” rather than on the time. Then make your sauce. And voilà—dinner is done!

Conquering Cuisine is located at 378 North Main Street in Doylestown; 267-625-6900; conqueringcuisine.com. The next scheduled Sautéing and Pan Sauces class is Oct. 22, 6:30 p.m. It is a hands-on class.

Diana Cercone is an area freelance writer who specializes in food, art and travel.

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